- Goal 1: The program will maintain a level of PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam) pass rates above the national average.
- Goal 2: The program will maintain a 90% or better graduation rate for entering PA program students.
- Class 2021 = 100% Graduation Rate
- Class of 2022 = 97% Graduation Rate
- Class of 2023 = 97% Graduation Rate
- Class of 2024 = 86% Graduation Rate
- Attrition information
- Goal 3: The deceleration rates for PA program students will be 10% or less for academic reasons.
- Class of 2021 = 0% Deceleration Rate
- Class of 2022 = 0% Deceleration Rate
- Class of 2023 = 0% Deceleration Rate
- Class of 2024 = 0% Deceleration rate
- Goal 4: Among those actively seeking employment, the employment rate for graduates of the PA program will be 90% or greater twelve months after graduation.
- Class of 2021 = 96% Employment for those passing the PANCE
- Class of 2022 = 100% Employment for those passing the PANCE
- Class of 2023 = 100% Employment for those passing the PANCE
- Goal 5: Through its student society, foster service and leadership in the community and the profession.
- See Below for PA Outreach Projects
Program Goals & Metrics
Our Program Goals and Metrics
Program Goals and Metrics
PA Outreach Projects
- Good Shepherd Free Clinic – collection and donation of dental hygiene products
- YMCA Clinton -Assist with Health & Wellness Screenings.
- Valentine’s Day cards to St. Jude patients
- Jude Children’s Hospital specializes in research, cures, and prevention of pediatric catastrophic diseases. Since the patients at St. Jude were unable to participate in typical Valentine’s Day celebrations with their classmates, we worked to ensure that they still felt loved and appreciated. We each wrote several Valentine’s Day cards that were delivered to patients at St. Jude. This was available through St. Jude’s website and all cards were sent virtually.
- Hospice of Laurens County – Students collected snack donations for families visiting loved ones at this location.
- Humane Society of Laurens County – Student volunteer hours.
- Geraldine’s Soup Kitchen -Students volunteer with food preparation and service.
- Clinton Nursing Home -Students make Valentine’s cards for all the residents.
- MUSC – Easter encouragement messages.
- To make Easter in the hospital feel more like home, we wrote encouraging messages to patients at MUSC that were printed and placed in Easter eggs for an egg hunt throughout the hospital. This was available through MUSC’s website.
- 3.2 for 32 Virginia Tech Remembrance Walk
- Walked/ran 3.2 miles in remembrance of the 32 lives lost in the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16th, 2007.
- American Red Cross -Blood Drive
- The American Red Cross set up a donation truck on campus encouraging faculty, staff, and students to donate blood.
- Ronald McDonald House Charities – Needs Drive
- The Ronald McDonald House is a nonprofit organization that assists families who have loved ones seeking medical care by providing more than 2.5 million overnight stays each year, meals, and daily necessities. This helps families save over $930 million in hotel and meal expenses. We donated 4 large boxes of needed items to RMH in Greenville and collected pop tops.
- Murph Challenge for Memorial Day
- The Murph Challenge is named after Michael Murphy, a Navy Lieutenant who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Murphy was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for courage and sacrifice. This workout is a symbolic gesture of respect for the fallen soldiers, and service men and women who risk their lives to defend our freedom.
- St. Luke Free Clinic
- Students volunteered at St. Luke Free Medical Clinic in Spartanburg, SC where they assisted in providing medical care to the underserved community.
- United Way of Laurens 2nd Annual Bookbag Giveaway
- Students collected much-needed school supplies to help fill backpacks for children in Laurens County with the United Way of Laurens. The child had to be present to receive a backpack. In addition, students created flyers on Pediatric Health Education (Respiratory Infections and Prevention, Smoking in Teens, Head Trauma, Voiding/Potty training, Diet for Children, and Eye Development) to pass out to parents.
- Women’s Health Month – Period products drive. (May)
- Teacher Appreciation Day -Teaching Supplies are collected and donated to local schools.
- SC Empowerment Center Youth Food and Hygiene Supply Drive
- Donation collection of food and other products as a part of the Christmas Drive
Program Competencies
The PC PA Program guides students through the acquisition of key program competencies. These competencies represent the knowledge, interpersonal, clinical, and technical skills, professional behaviors, and clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities required for graduation and entry into PA practice.
The PC PA Program Competencies were adapted from the “Competencies of the Physician Assistant Profession” (2012)1, the PAEA’s Core Tasks and Objectives2, the PAEA Core Competencies for New Physician Graduates (2018)3*, the ARC-PA Standards of Accreditation (2018)4, the AAMC’s Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency5, and the NCCPA Exam Content Blueprint6* to fit within the mission of PC PA Program.
The Faculty for the PC PA Program, along with the approval of the Academic, Clinical, and Steering Committees, have reviewed and approved these Program Competencies. This process ensures that the curriculum and assessments are aligned and that the Program Competencies represent the most current standards of medical education, medical care, and student acquisition of learning.
Students will be prepared for certification and clinical practice by demonstrating competency in each of the Program Competencies. Upon completion the program, graduating PA students will complete the defined competencies below.
PC PA Program Defined Competencies: Learning Outcomes
Competency Domain | Program Competencies (Learning Outcomes for New Graduates) | ARC 5th ed | Evaluation within the final four months |
Clinical and Technical Skills | CTS1: Adapt approach to patient care based on the acute, chronic, preventative, or emergent setting (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) CTS2: Adapt approach to patient care based on differences in age across the lifespan (Clinical Medicine III; Patient Evaluation and Counseling III; Pharmacology III, Clinical Laboratory and Diagnostic Medicine III, SCPE’s) CTS3: Elicit medical histories, perform physical examinations, and develop patient-centered management plans (Patient Evaluation and Counseling I, II, III, SCPE’s) CTS4: Perform common technical skills and procedures in a safe and effective manner (Patient Evaluation and Counseling I, II, III, SCPE’s) CTS5: Evaluate clinical situations that require referral or consultation (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) |
B2.08a B2.02d B2.07 B2.12 B2.09 B3.03 |
CTSI: OSCE CTS2: OSCE CTS3: OSCE CTS4: practical exam (summative) CTS5: OSCE, multiple choice exam |
Clinical Reasoning & Problem Solving | CP1: Locate, appraise, and integrate evidence from scientific studies to improve the care of patients (Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine, SCPE’s) CP2: Apply scientific principles to diagnostic and therapeutic clinical decision-making (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) CP3: Discern normal and abnormal health states, and develop plans to follow patients’ conditions in an appropriate longitudinal manner (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) |
B2.08a B2.13 B2.05 B2.07 |
CP1: PICO paper CP2: multiple choice exam CP3: OSE, multiple choice exam |
Interpersonal (IP) | IP1: Utilize communications skills for the effective exchange of information with patients and their families (Patient Evaluation and Counseling I, II, III, SCPE’s) IP2: Apply principles of interprofessional practice to work in collaborative health care teams (Introduction to the PA Profession, Clinical Medicine I, Patient Evaluation and Counseling II, Pharmacology III, SCPE’s) IP3: Utilize compassion and understanding when discussing sensitive topics with patients and their families (Introduction to the PA Profession, SCPE’s) IP4: Value the diversity of patients, avoid stereotyping, and recognize that patients’ health benefits can affect communication, decision-making, adherence, and health outcomes (Public Health and Disease Prevention, SCPE’s IP5: Compose accurate and thorough documentation of patient encounters (Patient Evaluation and Counseling I, II, III, SCPE’s) |
B2.04 B2.10 B2.06 B2.11c B2.14 |
IP1: OSCE IP2: IP3: pratical exam (summative) IP4: practical exam (summative) IP5: SOAP notes |
Medical Knowledge (K) | K1: Apply the basic concepts of medical science to the clinical evaluation and management of patients (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) K2: Distinguish signs and symptoms of common medical and surgical conditions (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) K3: Select and interpret appropriate routine laboratory and diagnostic tests, including appropriate preventative screening (Clinical Laboratory and Diagnostic Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) K4: Formulate differential diagnoses based on historical, physical exam, and diagnostic information (Clinical Medicine I, II, III, SCPE’s) K5: Implement appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic clinical management strategies for the care of common patient conditions (Pharmacology I, II, III, SCPE’s) K6: Provide patient-centered education that addresses lifestyle modification, treatment compliance, and patient coping (Patient Evaluation and Counseling I, II, III, SCPE’s) |
B1.o1c B2.02a-e B2.03 B2.07 B2.12 |
K1: OSCE, multiple choice exam K2: OSCE, multiple choice exam K3: OSCE, multiple choice exam K4: OSEC K5: multiple choice exam K6: OSCE |
Professional Behaviors (PB) | PB1: Demonstrate a commitment to excellence and an on-going professional development (Introduction to the PA Profession, SCPE’s) PB2: Demonstrate the principles of honesty, integrity, accountability, and respect, and abide by ethical and professional standards (Biomedical Ethics, Clinical Summative) PB3: Demonstrate respect for patient privacy by maintaining confidentiality (Introduction to the PA Profession, Biomedical Ethics, Clinical Summative) PB4: Demonstrate knowledge of the PA profession, its development and trends, and the laws and regulations governing professional practice (Clinical Summative) PB5: Identify gaps in any medical knowledge or skills and respond positively to criticism or feedback (SCPE’s) |
B2.19 B2.17 B2.18 |
PB1: Preceptor Evaluation of the Student PB2: Professionalism, Ethics, and Confidentiality Assignment PB3: Professionalism, Ethics, and Confidentiality Assignment PB4: PA Profession & Laws Assignment PB5: Preceptor Evaluation of the Student |
PANCE
The Presbyterian College Physician Assistant Program has published its Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) rates for the five most recent graduating classes as provided by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
ARC-PA Student Attrition
Graduated Class | Class of 2023 | Class of 2022 | Class of 2021 |
Maximum Entering Class Size (as approved by ARC-PA) | 36 | 34 | 32 |
Entering Class Size | 36 | 34 | 32 |
Graduates | 35 | 33 | 32 |
* Attrition Rate | 2.77 | 3% | 0 |
**Graduation rate | 97% | 97% | 100% |
Deceleration Rate | 0% | 0 | 0 |
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
References:
- “Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession” (2012). Updated 2012 (ARC-PA, NCCPA, PAEA) and 2013 (AAPA). Accessed Sep 2020. https://www.aapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PA-Competencies-updated.pdf
- “Core Tasks and Objectives” by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). Reviewed 2018. Access Sep 2020. https://paeaonline.org/assessment/core-tasks-and-objectives/
- “Core Competencies for New Physician Assistant Graduates” (2018). https://paeaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/core_competencies-new-pa-graduates-092018.pdf
- “Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education, 5th Edition” By the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (2010). Effective Sep 2020. Accessed Sept 2022. https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation/standards-of-accreditation/
- “Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency” By the Association of American Medical Colleges (2017). Accessed Sep 2020. https://www.aamc.org/system/files/c/2/484778-epa13toolkit.pdf
- “Content Blueprint for PANCE & PANRE” By the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. (2018). Accessed Oct 2018. http://www.nccpa.net/examscontentblueprint